Unattributed. “Clermont Seminary, near Philadelphia.”

Unattributed.  “Clermont Seminary, near Philadelphia.” 

Philadelphia: November 1810.  From The Port Folio.  4 1/4 x 7 1/4.  Engraving.  Very good condition.  Fielding: 1802.  

The Port Folio was a new type of American magazine, “Devoted to Useful Science, the Liberal Arts, Legitimate Criticism, and Polite Literature.”   It was a product of the new century, appearing first in January 1801.  It began as a weekly issue until 1809, when it became monthly until its demise at the end of 1827.  As with the many magazines that followed it, The Port Folio included numerous illustrations, including this print of Clermont Seminary.  This school was located at Heart lane and Nicetown Lane, between Germantown and Frankford.  It was a noted boarding school for boys, built in 1804 by two brothers, John Thomas and Charles Carre, in 1804.  They located their school on the highest point between Germantown and the Delaware River, a spot commonly called ‘Mount Clermont.’